Men’s Olympic downhill skiing bios

Canadian Manuel Osborne-Paradis races in the FIS Ski World Cup Super G at Lake Louise in November 2008.

Photograph by: Jenelle Schneider
, CNS files

MICHAEL WALCHHOFER

Country: Austria

Age: 33

Past Olympic experience: Was second in the downhill at the 2006 Olympics in Turin.

Career highlights: The tallest skier on the circuit at 6-foot-4 won the World Cup downhill crown in the 2004-05 and 2005-’06 seasons. He has 10 career downhill wins and won the world championship downhill in 2003.

Quote: “The downhill title is the biggest thing, especially in Austria. It shows you’re one of the best, not just at that moment, but in history.”

Career highlights: Won the World Cup overall title in 2006-07, then missed most of the following season after a horrific crash in a downhill at Beaver Creek, Colo., where he broke several facial bones and suffered a six-inch gash in his buttocks.

Quote: “I knew I was going to be nervous 1/8returning to Beaver Creek 3/8 so I figured there’s no point in acting tough and pretending you’re not nervous. If you admit it, then you can work on it. That’s a better strategy than pretending like you’re Superman because none of us really are.”

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KLAUS KROELL

Country: Austria

Age: 28

Past Olympic experience: Was 22nd in downhill at Turin.

Career highlights: Finished eighth in the downhill standings last season. Has yet to record a World Cup win, but had his third career second-place finish earlier this season in Bormio, Italy.

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MARCO BUECHEL

Country: Liechtenstein

Age: 37

Past Olympic experience: Has appeared in four Olympic Games, with his first top 10s coming in Turin in 2006 when he was sixth in Super G and seventh in downhill.

Career highlights: All his best results have come since turning 34, including a second-place finish in the downhill standings in the 2006-07 season. He loves racing in Canada, where he was 10th in the Super G at Whistler in 2008 after winning the Lake Louise downhill in 2006.

Quote: “It’s like the wine — the older I get, the faster I get. But suddenly you’ve got to watch out you don’t turn to vinegar.”

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MANUEL OSBORNE-PARADIS

Country: Canada

Age: 25

Past Olympic experience: Was 13th in downhill, 20th in Super G at Turin.

Career highlights: First podium finish came at Lake Louise in 2006 when he was second in the downhill. He had five top 10s last season en route to a sixth-place finish in the downhill standings.

Quote: “If you don’t feel like you deserve it or belong there, you’ll never be there. No matter how good a skier you are, you just won’t fluke out and do it (at the Olympics). You need to stand on the podium, you need to feel like you can do it and have done it.”

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